The Mysterious Mansion--Part 5--

Fred swallowed hard as the tall, older man of the group marched purposefully toward his booth. He definitely looked unhappy and seemed impervious to the pleading of the dark-haired woman pulling on his arm. Fred managed to utter a silent prayer before the young man loomed in the window.

“Where are they?” Millardo demanded without preamble.

“They should be out momentarily,” Fred said, giving the standard reply. “Perhaps they found something inside that piqued their interest.”

The flashing blue eyes darkened to an almost midnight hue. “They’d better not have. Now, I want my sister out here with us in five minutes, or I will go in after her.”

“I’m going to see where she is right now.” Fred waved the walkie-talkie as proof of his intent.

“See that you do.” With one final glare, Milliardo turned and stalked off.

When he was fairly sure that the angry young man was out of earshot, Fred turned the walkie-talkie back on. “Frank! Frank, pick up!”

There was a crackle of static as the other channel opened. “Fred, what the hell are you screaming for?”

“That girl’s brother is getting very antsy out here. Now if you don’t get her and her friend out of there in the next five minutes, he’s going in there after her.”

Frank chuckled. “Like he could.”

“You haven’t seen this one,” Fred stated. “He definitely looks like he could. So, enough games, Frank. We’ve had our fun.”

“Just ten more minutes?”

“NO!”

“Fine,” Frank grumbled, “I’ll have them out shortly.”

“You’d better,” Fred replied darkly, and with that, he terminated the connection.

* * * * *

“Great, another hallway,” Relena muttered. She was definitely sick of this place. She wanted to get out.

She quickly reached the end of the corridor. However, unlike the other passages, she only had a staircase before her instead a choice of doors. “Well, only way but up.”

She trudged up the creaky, wooden steps. At the top, she faced yet another door. With a wry smile, she preceded forward.

* * * * *

“The brother’s getting antsy,” Frank mocked in a singsong voice. “He’s coming in after her. He looks like he could.”

His hand flew over the control panels as he scowled up at the monitors. “Well, fine, end my fun then. I’ll get them out of here. Only I’ll do it my way.”

Chuckling, he flipped the final switch and pressed a final button. “The fun is not over just yet.”

* * * * *

Heero was itching for his gun. Although the weapon would provide little help in this situation, he almost felt naked without it. However, when Noin asked he leave for this outing, the request hadn’t seemed unreasonable.

‘Temper, temper,’ an internal voice, much like Duo, mocked. He groaned. That’s all he needed at the moment. Duo was inside his head.

“If I ever get out of here,” he grumbled. Yet, he didn’t complete the thought. He needed to focus on finding Relena and then a way out. He could make his other plans later.

There was a strange creak and Heero froze. It came from up above him. “Relena.”

He moved forward slowly, tracking the movement over him. If only there was some way he could get up there. Then he could get the hell out of there.

* * * * *

This hallway was a lot longer than the previous ones. The gray wooden boards groaned under her weight. The sound echoed off the vacant wall surrounding her.

“I just want out of here!” she cried. “Just let me out!”

The groaning of the wood underneath her crescendoed. She froze. And that seemed to be a mistake.

Once more the floor underneath her collapsed. In spite of herself, she screamed as she fell through. However, this fall was much briefer.

And her landing was softer this time as well. With a sigh, she rolled to her feet and dusted herself off. However, as she looked back, she froze.

“Heero?”

For a moment, he merely looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor. Then, with a long-suffering sigh, Heero rose to his feet. “Let’s go.”

“That’s it?” Relena demanded.

He studied her, obviously puzzled.

“No hello?” she explained angrily. “You didn’t even bother to see if I was okay!”

“You fell on top of me, so you should be all right.”

Relena rolled her eyes but didn’t try to argue further. Instead she peered further down the corridor. “Do you think that this way leads out?”

Heero merely shrugged. Without a glance back, he preceded forward. With a glare back over her shoulder, Relena followed.

* * * * *

“Relena! Heero!”

Relena smiled at the others’ exuberant greetings as she and Heero finally exited the Mysterious Mansion. However, she stopped smiling as her brother pushed his way forward in the group. He clearly wasn’t happy.

“What happened? Where were you?” he roared, glaring at the two latecomers. “Yuy, this is clearly all your fault.”

“No, it’s mine,” Relena said, placing herself between Milliardo and Heero. “It’s my fault. I tripped a trap door. I would have never found my way out if Heero hadn’t been there.”

Heero shot her a look at that statement but said nothing. Milliardo apparently had doubts about it as well. However, he seemed reluctant to fight with his sister.

“Well, I’d say we had a fun evening,” Hilde stated, diffusing the situation.

Quatre nodded. “Definitely.”

Duo threw a friendly arm around Relena’s shoulder. “So, what do you want to do for your birthday next year?”

“We could always get you tickets for the circus,” Trowa suggested.

There were several laughs, and groans, at that remark. Relena pondered Duo’s question for a moment. Then, she smiled.

“I guess I’ll let Noin surprise me again.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Noin answered, drawing a censorious look from Milliardo. “So, can everyone ski?”


Part V Fred swallowed hard as the tall, older man of the group marched purposefully toward his booth. He definitely looked unhappy and seemed impervious to the pleading of the dark-haired woman pulling on his arm. Fred managed to utter a silent prayer before the young man loomed in the window. “Where are they?” Millardo demanded without preamble. “They should be out momentarily,” Fred said, giving the standard reply. “Perhaps they found something inside that piqued their interest.” The flashing blue eyes darkened to an almost midnight hue. “They’d better not have. Now, I want my sister out here with us in five minutes, or I will go in after her.” “I’m going to see where she is right now.” Fred waved the walkie-talkie as proof of his intent. “See that you do.” With one final glare, Milliardo turned and stalked off. When he was fairly sure that the angry young man was out of earshot, Fred turned the walkie-talkie back on. “Frank! Frank, pick up!” There was a crackle of static as the other channel opened. “Fred, what the hell are you screaming for?” “That girl’s brother is getting very antsy out here. Now if you don’t get her and her friend out of there in the next five minutes, he’s going in there after her.” Frank chuckled. “Like he could.” “You haven’t seen this one,” Fred stated. “He definitely looks like he could. So, enough games, Frank. We’ve had our fun.” “Just ten more minutes?” “NO!” “Fine,” Frank grumbled, “I’ll have them out shortly.” “You’d better,” Fred replied darkly, and with that, he terminated the connection. * * * * * “Great, another hallway,” Relena muttered. She was definitely sick of this place. She wanted to get out. She quickly reached the end of the corridor. However, unlike the other passages, she only had a staircase before her instead a choice of doors. “Well, only way but up.” She trudged up the creaky, wooden steps. At the top, she faced yet another door. With a wry smile, she preceded forward. * * * * * “The brother’s getting antsy,” Frank mocked in a singsong voice. “He’s coming in after her. He looks like he could.” His hand flew over the control panels as he scowled up at the monitors. “Well, fine, end my fun then. I’ll get them out of here. Only I’ll do it my way.” Chuckling, he flipped the final switch and pressed a final button. “The fun is not over just yet.” * * * * * Heero was itching for his gun. Although the weapon would provide little help in this situation, he almost felt naked without it. However, when Noin asked he leave for this outing, the request hadn’t seemed unreasonable. ‘Temper, temper,’ an internal voice, much like Duo, mocked. He groaned. That’s all he needed at the moment. Duo was inside his head. “If I ever get out of here,” he grumbled. Yet, he didn’t complete the thought. He needed to focus on finding Relena and then a way out. He could make his other plans later. There was a strange creak and Heero froze. It came from up above him. “Relena.” He moved forward slowly, tracking the movement over him. If only there was some way he could get up there. Then he could get the hell out of there. * * * * * This hallway was a lot longer than the previous ones. The gray wooden boards groaned under her weight. The sound echoed off the vacant wall surrounding her. “I just want out of here!” she cried. “Just let me out!” The groaning of the wood underneath her crescendoed. She froze. And that seemed to be a mistake. Once more the floor underneath her collapsed. In spite of herself, she screamed as she fell through. However, this fall was much briefer. And her landing was softer this time as well. With a sigh, she rolled to her feet and dusted herself off. However, as she looked back, she froze. “Heero?” For a moment, he merely looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor. Then, with a long-suffering sigh, Heero rose to his feet. “Let’s go.” “That’s it?” Relena demanded. He studied her, obviously puzzled. “No hello?” she explained angrily. “You didn’t even bother to see if I was okay!” “You fell on top of me, so you should be all right.” Relena rolled her eyes but didn’t try to argue further. Instead she peered further down the corridor. “Do you think that this way leads out?” Heero merely shrugged. Without a glance back, he preceded forward. With a glare back over her shoulder, Relena followed. * * * * * “Relena! Heero!” Relena smiled at the others’ exuberant greetings as she and Heero finally exited the Mysterious Mansion. However, she stopped smiling as her brother pushed his way forward in the group. He clearly wasn’t happy. “What happened? Where were you?” he roared, glaring at the two latecomers. “Yuy, this is clearly all your fault.” “No, it’s mine,” Relena said, placing herself between Milliardo and Heero. “It’s my fault. I tripped a trap door. I would have never found my way out if Heero hadn’t been there.” Heero shot her a look at that statement but said nothing. Milliardo apparently had doubts about it as well. However, he seemed reluctant to fight with his sister. “Well, I’d say we had a fun evening,” Hilde stated, diffusing the situation. Quatre nodded. “Definitely.” Duo threw a friendly arm around Relena’s shoulder. “So, what do you want to do for your birthday next year?” “We could always get you tickets for the circus,” Trowa suggested. There were several laughs, and groans, at that remark. Relena pondered Duo’s question for a moment. Then, she smiled. “I guess I’ll let Noin surprise me again.” “Sure, I can do that,” Noin answered, drawing a censorious look from Milliardo. “So, can everyone ski?”


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